Teacher Handbook

Formative Assessment Principles and Practices

MARCH 2018

This copy is for information only. No reproduction, repurposing or revising is allowed without
permission from the Malaysia Team in Cambridge English.
Contents
Overview 3
Introduction 4
What is Formative Assessment? 6
Adjusting the teaching 6
A flexible and responsive approach 7
Time cycles 8
Helping pupils to show evidence of learning 8
Involving pupils 9
Wiliam’s five principles 10
Building Blocks for Formative Assessment: A Necessary Nine 11
First principle: Where are we going? 11
Building block . Sharing learning objectives and success criteria 11
Building block . Exemplars 12
Second principle: Where is each pupil now? 13
Building block . Starters and plenaries 13
Building block . Deliberate practice 14
Building block . Questioning 15
Building block . Discussions 16
Building block . Quick scans 17
Building block . Self assessment and peer assessment 18
Third principle: How do we get there? 19
Building block . Feedback 19
Classroom Culture 22
What’s Next? 24
Further Reading and Useful Websites 25
Glossary of Terms 26

Version 1.0 0318

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Overview

Formative assessment is often discussed in different ways and can mean different things to different
people. The first section of this Teacher Handbook uses a definition taken from the work of a
leading expert in formative assessment. This is the best definition we have available at present. By
looking at this definition closely we can understand more clearly what formative assessment is and
what it is not. As we will see, the definition explains formative assessment in a general way but it will
help us to focus on exactly how formative assessment has most impact on pupils.
In the second section of the handbook we look in detail at nine necessary building blocks for
formative assessment. There are also practical suggestions and teaching ideas for each building
block.
The third section looks at developing and supporting a classroom culture based around formative
assessment where every pupil can succeed by developing confidence in their learning and a
positive attitude to assessment.
The fourth section aims to encourage teachers to reflect on their practice and consider which of the
suggested formative assessment strategies can be used in their planning.
There are some suggestions for further reading because there is so much more to discover about
formative assessment than this short handbook can cover. Hopefully this handbook will inspire
teachers to further explore formative assessment ideas and approaches and to use formative
assessment regularly in all their lessons.
Finally, there is a glossary at the end of this handbook which contains definitions of some of the
terms that you are likely to come across when planning for formative assessment activities. You
may find it useful to check the definitions in the glossary before reading further.

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Introduction

This Teacher Handbook is an introduction to formative assessment principles and practices. It is

written for teachers and includes practical suggestions and ideas for lessons.
It is important to develop teaching practice so that formative assessment is at the heart of teaching
and learning. This is because research shows that formative assessment has a significant positive
impact on learning.1
Formative assessment is the connecting ‘bridge’ between the teaching and the learning in
every lesson.2 Research shows that building this bridge can actually accelerate learning. However,
teaching, learning and formative assessment should be seen as parts of one continuous process. In
other words, they cannot be planned for or put into practice separately from each other.

Formative
assessment

This handbook emphasises three essential questions that every teacher needs to ask about the
learning in their lessons:
 Where are we going?
 Where is each pupil now?
 How do we get there?

These are key questions for teachers who use teaching and formative assessment to inform
learning. The questions show that learning is a process that requires a constant dialogue between
the teacher and their pupils. The elements of this dialogue include:

1
A pioneering review of research on formative assessment was published by Paul Black and Dylan
Wiliam in 1998. See their Inside the Back Box: Raising Standards Through Classroom Assessment.
Available from: http://weaeducation.typepad.co.uk/files/blackbox-1.pdf
2 This idea of formative assessment as a ‘bridge’ is taken from Dylan Wiliam’s book Embedded
Formative Assessment. This book has been a key resource for this handbook and is recommended
further reading.
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  Ensuring every pupil understands the learning objectives and how to judge their
own progress
 Helping every pupil to produce evidence3 which shows what they learned – this
helps teachers and pupils to check and consolidate their learning
 Giving pupils feedback regularly to help them move their learning forward.

Teachers need all the above elements of formative assessment so that they can plan each pupil’s
next step in their individual language development. A teacher can improve their awareness of the
needs of their pupils when they apply formative assessment practices.
We need to add two more essential elements of formative assessment: how pupils can help each
other and be involved in making judgements about their learning. Peer assessment and
self assessment are therefore very important for formative assessment. They help to involve pupils
in their learning and to become independent learners.

3 More details on what is meant by ‘evidence of learning’ and how pupils produce it are available on page 8.

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What is Formative Assessment?

What does the word ‘formative’ mean? The meaning of this word in a dictionary refers to something
that helps form or shape something else. The dictionary definition shows that the word formative in
formative assessment refers to how assessment is carried out to help shape and inform the
learning.
What exactly is meant by ‘assessment’, since this is often associated with testing and grading? Are
tests and grades part of formative assessment? To answer this, let’s look at a definition of formative
assessment that has been taken from the work of Dylan Wiliam, a leading expert in this field. His
definition describes formative assessment in this way:

‘An assessment functions formatively to the extent that evidence about

student achievement is elicited, interpreted and used by teachers,
learners, or their peers to make decisions about the next steps in
instruction that are likely to be better, or better founded, than the
decisions they would have made in the absence of that evidence.’
(Wiliam, 2018, p. 48)
Let’s think about what this definition means for teaching (or ‘instruction’ as Wiliam calls it) and
learning, to clarify important aspects of what Wiliam is talking about.

Adjusting the teaching

Wiliam’s definition states that the function – how assessment is used – is crucial. Assessment
becomes formative when it is used to identify learning needs and what to do next. Grades on
their own are not useful; it’s what the teacher does with the information they collect about the
learning that matters most.
After collecting information about the learning (e.g. pupils can listen and respond with confidence to
a simple question but have difficulty using the correct form of the present simple tense) the teacher
needs to interpret this evidence in terms of pupil needs and progress. Once the teacher has
identified pupil needs and progress (that pupils have difficulty using the correct form of the present
simple tense), he/she can identify and adjust the next steps in the process of learning. For example,
if a teacher decides that a number of pupils in his/her class have not understood a key concept, the
concept will have to be taught again to these pupils. The teacher may need to adjust their lesson
planning.
Of course grades and marks are useful for tracking pupils’ progress and may also indicate where
there are misunderstandings or gaps in knowledge. However, this information is only useful if
teachers are then able to take action or change their plans in time to make things better. If grades
are only made available several weeks after the teaching, then it may be too late to address the
problem. Furthermore, if the purpose of grades is only to track progress then assessment is not
used formatively. Assessment becomes formative when the teacher uses the evidence to adjust
teaching according to learning needs.

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A flexible and responsive approach

Being able to make adjustments to lesson planning, or even making changes to a lesson plan
during the lesson, requires a highly flexible and responsive approach. Teachers have to plan
moments of ‘contingency’ that is, moments in which teachers make a quick decision on whether all
pupils understand a new concept or some pupils are still struggling to fully understand it. If the
teacher finds evidence to suggest that some pupils are struggling, the teacher can teach that
concept again. For example, if it becomes clear that some pupils still do not know when to use
possessive ‘s’ after nouns, the teacher can choose to either:
 Give out another exercise to assess how far everyone have understood
 Use confident pupils who understood how to use possessive ‘s’ after nouns to explain to
the others in small groups and give each other feedback
 Explain again when to use possessive ‘s’ after nouns.
The choices are limitless: teachers can choose what they think is best and most likely to improve
learning in their classrooms. This way, formative assessment is done based on evidence and can
be used to feed into what the teacher and pupils do next. It is therefore important that teachers do
not have fixed lesson plans and can adapt their teaching during the lesson if they have to.
Wiliam4 explains how teachers can identify the next steps in teaching through moments of
contingency by either planning ‘proactively’, ‘interactively’ or ‘retroactively’:

Proactive planning Interactive planning Retroactive planning

Creating a classroom
culture in which pupils are
responsible for their
learning.
(Proactive formative
assessment is discussed
later in the handbook, in the
Classroom Culture section,
with some suggested ideas
and examples.)
Identifying and responding to
pupils’ needs during the
lesson.
For example, the teacher
uses a quick ‘thumbs up,
thumbs down, thumbs
sideways’ from every pupil to
show how many are ready to
move on to a new topic.
What happens next in the
lesson is dependent on the
results of this formative
assessment (see possessive
‘s’ after nouns example
above).
Takes place after the lesson
has been taught. It involves
planning for the next lesson or
for a unit of work based on
formative assessment.
For example, the results of a
self assessment activity taken
by pupils are used to identify
prior knowledge. This then
feeds into the planning for
subsequent lessons: this might
include deciding which topics
need more time as well as
how to make use of pupils as
support for each other.

4See Dylan Wiliam, Leadership for Teacher Learning (West Palm Beach, FL: Learning Sciences International,
2016), 109-110.

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Time cycles

Formative assessment can differ in terms of the timescales involved. Wiliam (2018) suggests that
there are long, medium and short cycle responses in formative assessment, each having a different
type of impact. These are explained in the following table. This table shows that formative
assessment should be planned regularly across the different time cycles.

Short cycle Medium cycle Long cycle

Span Within and between Within and between Across terms or teaching
lessons teaching units units

Length Minute-by-minute and One to four weeks Four weeks to a year (or
day-by-day more)

Impact Pupil engagement Pupils understand how they Benchmarking for pupil
increases are assessed progress
Teacher responsiveness Teacher understanding of Improvements made to the
improves assessment improves curriculum
(Adapted from Wiliam, 2018, p. 51)

Helping pupils to show evidence of learning

Another aspect of Wiliam’s (2018) definition of formative assessment is the idea that teachers help
pupils to show if they understood the lesson. This becomes ‘evidence’ of their ‘achievement’.
Helping pupils to find and give evidence that they learned something must be guided by three
principles: variety, specificity and frequency:

Principle
Variety
Using different sources of evidence:
The decisions that teachers need to
make about the next steps in learning
are more reliable and valid if these
decisions are based on different
sources of evidence. So formative
assessment needs to be varied.
Example
A lesson includes: small group discussion activities
(discussions); practising specific skills and applying
knowledge (deliberate practice); a whole class
‘plenary’ (a review of the learning).
These three formative assessment methods:
discussions, deliberate practice, and a review of
the learning provide different sources of information
about pupils’ progress, all helping to inform the
teacher’s decisions about the next steps. These
methods will be explained in the next section.

Specificity Focused quizzes in the form of multiple-choice

Collecting specific information:
The more specific the information is, the
more useful it can be. Formative
assessment is more effective if it
collects specific information about the
learning so that pupils can receive
specific feedback.
questions can be used to diagnose specific
misconceptions about a topic, allowing a teacher to
focus their teaching on dealing with these specific
misconceptions rather than assuming that everyone
in the class has understood.

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 Frequency
Planning regular formative
assessment opportunities:
When formative assessment is used
frequently, such as regular
recapping of learning from previous
lessons, it helps to both check and
consolidate learning.
Teachers can regularly check learning
throughout a sequence of lessons in the form of
regular classroom quizzes. These checks on
learning are sequenced so that the
consolidation of learning builds up over time,
instead of being squeezed into a short period.
This is called spaced practice, and is covered
in more detail in the next section. Each quiz
includes checks on learning from previous
lessons as well as checks on new learning.

Involving pupils

A final point to make about Wiliam’s (2018) definition is that formative assessment does not only
involve teachers. Individual pupils and their peers are an essential part of the process. They can be
involved in several ways:
 Through ongoing dialogue with the teacher
 Through discussions with each other so that they are able to share and combine their
ideas
 Through self-assessment and peer-assessment activities that involve pupils in their own
assessment.
These ideas are explored in the following table:

Ongoing dialogue between teacher and pupil

Formative assessment requires an ongoing dialogue between the teacher and pupil. This means
that teachers plan opportunities in the lessons to speak to individual pupils or small groups to
check on their progress.
Getting regular feedback from all pupils about their learning is also essential. Teachers can use,
for example, exit cards (A5 paper-size cards) prepared by the teacher with specific questions
about the lesson. Pupils fill them in at the end of the lesson, and they should not take longer than
a few minutes to complete. Exit cards help teachers to identify specific gaps in understanding that
can then be addressed in the next lesson. They can be used to check on specific aspects of the
learning or to get feedback about activities and teaching approaches that have been used.

Pupils help each other with their learning

Getting pupils involved in helping each other with their learning through discussions and
cooperative learning tasks is an important way to involve pupils in formative assessment.
Cooperative learning tasks such as ‘Think, Pair, Share’ help pupils to share and combine their
ideas in a relaxed and fun way. For example, the teacher can ask the class to describe how to get
from A to B on a map. Pupils can take a few minutes to think and write their answers individually,
then they can talk to a partner to check their answers before they share them with the whole
class.

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 Peer assessment and self assessment
Peer assessment and self assessment opportunities enable all pupils to be involved in the
process of formative assessment and create a culture of sharing learning and success.
Peer assessment works best when pupils are asked to give feedback to another pupil on specific
aspects of their learning, for example, the accurate use of possessive ‘s’ after nouns in a short
piece of writing. Pupils find it difficult to give effective feedback to each other if the feedback task
is too complex.
Teachers should carefully plan for and support self assessment activities. For example, pupils
keep learning diaries which can reveal areas that need clarification or specific skills that need
further development. This can be a source of vital information for the teacher.

Wiliam insists that his definition of formative assessment needs to be general because it has to
cover the wide range of teaching and feedback techniques as well as different planning strategies
over different time cycles.
In this section we have looked at a definition of formative assessment in a broad way. We will now
focus on exactly how formative assessment can have most impact on pupils. Based on his
research, Wiliam has put forward five principles of formative assessment that help to show what
makes formative assessment most effective.

Wiliam’s five principles

Wiliam insists that the ‘big idea’ in formative assessment is that teachers adapt teaching to the
needs of each pupil. Evidence about learning is gathered in order to adjust teaching to meet the
needs of pupils.
The three key questions for formative assessment: Where are we going? Where is each pupil now?
How do we get there? require teaching approaches and ideas that give clear roles to the teacher,
peers and individual pupils in the process of learning.
Wiliam (2018) has created five principles that can guide all formative assessment practices and help
teachers adapt their teaching and respond to pupils’ needs:
1. Sharing and understanding learning objectives and success criteria
2. Helping pupils to show what they learned (e.g. in classroom discussions)
3. Giving feedback that moves learning forward
4. Helping pupils to help and support each other with their learning
5. Helping pupils to be owners of their learning
(Adapted from Wiliam, 2018, p 52)
Using these principles to plan and guide formative assessment minute-by-minute and day-by-day
will have the greatest impact on learning. According to research, short cycle and interactive
responses have the most benefit for pupils. That is why in the next section of the handbook the
focus is on a short cycle and interactive approach to formative assessment. We will now explore
how to put these principles into practice.

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Building Blocks for Formative Assessment:
A Necessary Nine

We will look at nine building blocks for formative assessment, divided according to which of the
three key questions for formative assessment they most relate to: Where are we going? Where is
each pupil now? How do we get there?
Learning is a process and these building blocks are connected: they cannot be planned for or put
into practice in isolation from each other.
Each building block includes practical teaching ideas and approaches relevant to the classroom. Of
course, every teacher will want to adapt and modify these suggestions to meet their own needs and
the age and needs of their pupils. Teachers can also find more ideas using the further reading
resources at the end of the handbook.

First principle: Where are we going?

Building block . Sharing learning objectives and success criteria

As well as helping pupils understand where they are going with their learning, this first building block
is also essential for lesson planning.
The learning objectives should be derived from the learning standards. 5 They should break the
learning standard into manageable chunks that can be achieved by the end of a lesson. Over time,
the learning objectives of a number of lessons should ensure that pupils have enough opportunities
to meet the learning standard by the end of the year.
Identifying specific learning objectives helps teachers in ‘planning backwards’ that is, planning a
lesson starting from the learning objectives so that specific tasks and activities can be planned to
meet each learning objective. The learning objectives describe the new knowledge, understanding
and skills, as well as changes in attitudes that pupils will be walking out with at the end of a lesson.
Identifying success criteria for assessment of the learning will then help the teacher to give specific
feedback (see Building block 9. Feedback). Success criteria will help pupils understand their
learning better and identify the goals of each lesson.
Here’s an idea to help with writing learning objectives and success criteria:

WALT & WILF

These acronyms are a good way to make learning objectives and success criteria accessible to
pupils. WALT stands for ‘We Are Learning To’ (the learning objective) and WILT is ‘What I’m
Looking For’ (the success criteria). It’s best to share the WALTs and WILFs as part of the first
stage in a lesson, and to ensure that everyone really does understand them (using a suitable
technique to check understanding).

See an example of WALT and WILFs below:

5 See the glossary section for the definitions of learning objectives and learning standards.

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 Learning Standard (from Primary Year 4): 4.2.5 Connect sentences into a coherent paragraph
using basic coordinating conjunctions and reference pronouns
Example of WALT (learning objective) Example of WILF (success criteria)
We are learning to write a paragraph What I’m looking for… (tick the box when done)
with five sentences.
 I can write complete sentences.
 I can write sentences that are connected to each
other.
 I use the correct punctuation mark at the end of my
sentences.
 I use a capital letter at the beginning of my
sentences.

Building block . Exemplars

Providing examples of langauge use is an excellent way to help pupils understand where exactly
they are going with their learning. For example, specific skills can be modelled or examples of
learning can be shown. The teacher can either prepare exemplars or use authentic examples of
learning from pupils.
Here are some suggestions for using exemplars:

Using exemplars to clarify success criteria

Pupils produce draft pieces of work for a task. The teacher collects these drafts, chooses the
three best as exemplars, and photocopies these. Pupils then get their work back, together with
copies of the exemplars. In groups, the pupils use the exemplars to create success criteria. They
then mark their drafts, using the success criteria as guidance. . They can also use success
criteria to check the work of their peers.

Ranking exemplars
The teacher gives pupils five exemplars of pupil work (from a previous year group or created by
the teacher) for a particular task. In groups, the teacher asks pupils to discuss the strengths and
weaknesses of each piece of work and to rank them in terms of quality. Pupils then give reasons
for their ranking and use the reasons to construct (in groups or as a whole class) the success
criteria for the task.

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Second principle: Where is each pupil now?

If teachers want to know where each pupil is in their learning, they need to have evidence of what
their pupils learned and regularly check their learning. The next six building blocks deal with ways to
make teaching responsive and adaptable, so that teachers can make adjustments and their
teaching responds to the learning within the flow of the lesson.

Building block . Starters and plenaries

Starter and plenary activities are key moments within a process of learning. Every lesson and every
stage of learning needs a starter that activates prior knowledge and a plenary to review the learning.
Here are some ideas for effective starters and plenaries:

Starters that activate prior knowledge

Starters provide feedback on what the pupils already know as well as focussing on the next stage
of the learning. There are many ideas for starter activities. Two effective techniques are
True/False questions and ABCD cards.
The teacher uses a method to indicate True/False, for example, giving pupils red and green cards
(red to show False, green to show True). The teacher starts the lesson verbally or with a series of
statements on the whiteboard and each pupil has to tell whether they think each statement is
True or False using their cards. For example, the statements might focus on specific aspects of
language use or understanding of grammar.
The teacher uses ABCD cards for multiple-choice questions which have four choices. Each pupil
has four cards, each with one letter (A, B, C, or D) which corresponds to the four choices. The
pupils use one of the cards to show their response to the question. The questions can focus on
pupils’ understanding of a specific aspect of language.
Both these activities are a great way to activate prior knowledge and to diagnose specific
misconceptions or gaps in knowledge.

Plenaries for reviewing learning

Reviewing learning at the end of a lesson or at a specific stage of learning can help to consolidate
learning and also enables the teacher to check what learning has taken place. For example,
getting pupils to write down what was the most important thing they learned in the lesson can
provide a valuable insight into the process of learning.
Exit cards filled in by pupils in response to specific questions about what they learned during the
lesson can help teachers to identify specific gaps in understanding that can then be addressed in
the next lesson.

Reflecting on learning
Teachers can use reflection tasks as part of a plenary stage and these can help pupils to learn
about their own understanding of how they learn. Reflecting on their learning can also help pupils
to identify ways to improve their approach to learning. Reflecting helps contribute to a proactive
approach to formative assessment in which pupils take ownership over their learning.
For example, pupils complete a learning log at the end of a lesson or sequence of lessons.
These logs record the pupils’ responses to questions about what went well in their learning and
what could be even better. Wiliam advises using a variety of open-ended prompts so that a pupil

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 can choose two or three to respond to. These logs can also reveal areas that need clarification or
specific skills that need further development.
Examples of open-ended prompts which encourage reflection:

What was easy? What did you enjoy? How will you solve the problem next time?
What was hard for you to do? How did you know if the problem was solved?
How did you know this was the right answer? What would you do differently next time?

Building block . Deliberate practice

The idea of deliberate practice is that learning needs to be broken down into small steps. Here
are the features of deliberate practice (Christodoulou, 2016).

Focussed practice
Teachers give pupils tasks to help them improve specific skills and knowledge. The focus in
deliberate practice is always on specific areas of learning to improve. Breaking complex tasks
down into small steps helps avoid overloading pupils’ working memory. Also, focussed practice
makes feedback very precise to help the pupil focus on the specific skill that has been practised.
For example, pupils can work on a card match activity matching rules of comma usage to
example sentences. They then practise writing sentences using the rules. The teacher can
monitor each pupil’s progress and identify which of the rules need more practice.

Practice looks different to the final skill

The different skills which pupils practise are the components of the final skill or task, which then
constitute a learning objective. For example, if the learning objective is to write an extended text
then deliberate practice focuses on practising the specific and different skills required to achieve
this:
 The teacher focuses early activities in a sequence of lessons on the building blocks in a
sentence, such as replacing present tense verbs with the past tense.
 Next the activities focus on rewriting sentences, for example, activities on pronoun usage.
 Other activities build up understanding of grammar by focussing for example on avoiding run-
on sentences (i.e. two or more clauses that are badly connected).
 At the end of every lesson pupils can apply the skills practised in a structured writing task,
working towards the final goal of writing an extended text.

Spaced practice
Teachers can check learning throughout a sequence of lessons by using classroom quizzes.
Checking pupils’ development over a sequence of lessons helps to consolidate and build learning
over time. Each classroom quiz can include checks on learning from previous lessons alongside
checks on new learning. This repetition through regular recapping from previous lessons helps to
consolidate and build learning.

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Building block . Questioning
Questions from teachers fulfil a variety of functions, for example, managing the classroom,
focussing attention or keeping pupils engaged in a lesson. Teachers can also use questions to find
out how much their pupils understand, and to encourage and prompt further learning to deepen
understanding. In this way questioning is used to embed formative assessment into a lesson.
Here are some ideas to help with questioning:

No hands up
The teacher asks pupils to keep hands down and selects one pupil to give an answer. The aim is
to establish a classroom where everyone should give an answer. Having this as a classroom ‘rule’
will encourage everyone to be involved in the lesson. For less able pupils, the teacher chooses
questions within their ability range in order to encourage them to contribute. If the selected pupil
cannot come up with a response, the teacher offers them additional thinking time6 and then
comes back to them for a response later. As a last resort, the teacher offers suggestions and
allows the pupil to select their answer (and then with prompts encourages them to justify that
selection).
Examples of prompts to help pupils think of an answer:
 What do you think would happen if ________?
 Can you describe what happens if ________?
 Why did you choose ________ over ________?

Mini whiteboards
A good way to support pupils with their answers in a ‘no hands up’ classroom is to use mini
whiteboards. A mini whiteboard is an A4-sized double-sided plastic board – a small version of
the large whiteboard found at the front of most modern classrooms (plastic laminated sheets of
paper can also be used). They are a kind of personal workspace for every pupil. Using them
should mean that every pupil gets involved. Each pupil has one, so when the teacher asks a
question, everyone is expected to give an answer (by holding their mini whiteboard up). This
avoids one of the problems with the hands-up approach to teacher questions: that often it is the
same few pupils offering answers.

Wait time
Wait time is the time given between asking and then collecting a response to a question.
Research on wait time has shown that teachers often wait less than a second for an answer to a
question, which does not give pupils much time to think! 7 No-one can really think in such a short
amount of time. So increasing wait time (to at least three seconds) can feel uncomfortable at first,
but teachers and pupils will soon become used to it. More importantly, the quality and length of
answers will quickly increase the more wait time is used, as pupils have more time to remember
their answers and think through what they want to say. To save teachers feeling too

6 This is really important and it usually takes teachers time to get used to giving pupils more time. See more
information on wait time in this section.
7 You can read about Mary Budd Rowe’s research on wait time:

http://www.sagepub.com/eis2study/articles/Budd%20Rowe.pdf [accessed 12 November 2017]

15
 uncomfortable with the silence in the classroom, they can use wait time to repeat and rephrase
the question, which helps to ensure that everyone understands the question.

Talk partners
Pupils can talk through their ideas with a partner or in a small group. However, before they
respond to questions, teachers should make sure to give pupils time to think. When teachers
give pupils time to discuss their ideas with a partner or in a small group, they can assume that
everyone in the class is ready to provide an answer. Teachers can try asking the question before
identifying someone to give a response. This helps create a classroom culture in which everyone
knows they need to be prepared to answer every question, and thus engaged at all times in the
lesson.

Plan questions
Teachers should plan and create a sequence of questions with a clear purpose in mind. They can
start with identifying the level of challenge involved, the kind of thinking required from their pupils
and what information their responses might give teachers about their thinking. Teachers can also
plan probing or follow-up questions. Probing questions are questions which aim to dig deeper
than the surface. They are effective when they get a pupil to talk about their thinking. Teachers
can use ‘how, who, what, when, why, where’ questions for this probing, or verbs such as
‘describe’ and ‘explain’. They should ensure that questions are clearly phrased and plan for the
possible answers that might be given.
Examples of probing and follow-up questions:

Probing questions Follow-up questions

Does anyone agree with that? Why? Does anyone disagree?

What would you say instead?
Why is that different?

That’s a good summary, but could you say that Not sure that’s quite right, have another go.
more fluently?
Is that what you meant?

Is there a different way to say the same thing? Can you give me an example of when/where
that happens?

Building block . Discussions

Giving pupils open and stimulating questions to think about and discuss can provide a window into
their thinking. Discussions can also stimulate higher order thinking skills (HOTS) that help to deepen
understanding. For example, teachers can ask pupils to compare their answers, to look for
similarities or differences, or to evaluate their responses in various ways.
Monitoring discussions can help teachers to identify gaps in understanding and opportunities for
filling those gaps within the lesson. Discussions are also a way to use pupils as resources for one
another, so that through interaction they help each other with their learning.
Here are some ideas for planning purposeful discussion activities:

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 Think, Pair, Share
Using ‘talk’ partners and small group discussion activities also gives pupils time to rehearse
language. For example, the teacher asks a pupil to write down or think through an answer on their
own. This will make the pupil think about and identify the language they need to use. Next, they
rehearse using this language with a ‘talk’ partner and can combine their ideas. The teacher
makes sure that pupils rehearse together before individual pupils give an answer in front of the
entire class. This form of activity takes pressure off a pupil in terms of having to supply an
immediate answer verbally and will help them to make longer and better quality responses. These
longer responses provide more information about their thinking and the progress they are making
in their learning.

Communication regulators
Communication regulator activities provide a structure to a discussion and help to make
communication equal among the members of a group so that everyone has an opportunity to
speak. This then helps to promote positive communication patterns in the classroom. It is
essential to give pupils preparation time for these activities (time to think about the topic for the
task before the discussion begins).
There are lots of different communication regulator activities. With talking chips, each pupil has
a ‘chip’ (for example, they can use a pen). If someone wants to talk, they must place their chip in
the centre of the table. They cannot then talk again until everyone has used their chip. When
everyone has used the chip, then anyone can talk again.
With response mode cards, the teacher gives pupils different cards, each indicating a specific
type of response that they can make in a discussion (for example, asking a question, giving an
idea, giving praise, responding to an idea, etc.). If a pupil wishes to speak they must show the
appropriate card, representing their response mode.
In timed turns, no-one can talk for more than a minute and there is a timekeeper on each turn.
Hot seating involves one person in the ‘hot seat’ answering questions on a given topic by the
other members of the group, who can only listen and ask questions. Pupils take it in turns to be in
the hot seat.

Building block . Quick scans

Quick scans are all-pupil-response techniques that enable the teacher to quickly check
understanding across a whole class. Here are some examples:

Traffic lights
Pupils use green, amber and red traffic lights (such as coloured plastic cups or cards) to indicate
levels of understanding and to attract support from peers and/or the teacher.
Red: I don’t understand what is going on
Amber: I almost get it, but I need confidence
Green: I understand it, and I can support others
The teacher can ask an amber pupil what it is that they don’t understand and then ask a green
pupil to explain their answer. This technique can also help with differentiation: red pupils can be

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 grouped to get further support from the teacher while amber pupils seek further help from green
pupils.
Note: It is important to check that green pupils actually understand by asking them some probing
questions. The teacher can run another scan after the first one if they think it is necessary to
check how many red and amber cards are left. They can then repeat the technique described
above.

Thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs sideways

This technique is most useful when the question aims to check pupils’ thinking:
Thumbs up: showing agreement
Thumbs down: showing disagreement
Thumbs sideways: not sure
When the teacher asks a question and pupils give two or three different responses, the teacher
asks pupils to use their thumbs to show agreement or disagreement with each response. The
teacher then asks pupils to give reasons for their thumbs up, down or sideways and suggestions
for how to improve the answers.

Hinge questions
These are key questions that teachers can ask within the flow of a lesson to check pupils’
understanding before moving on. This assessment needs to be quick – no more than two
minutes. Teachers need to be able to check the results from the whole class. Mini whiteboards
are a useful aid for this.
For example, a hinge question in a lesson about telling a past experience (speaking activity)
would check pupils’ understanding of using past tenses. The teacher shows or plays examples of
sentences (written or spoken) and asks all pupils to identify those sentences that are formed
correctly using past tenses. Depending on the outcome of this formative assessment, pupils might
then move on to different tasks, while those who could not identify the past tenses get a task to
help them improve their understanding of the past tenses in English.

One-minute verbal assessment

The teacher asks pupils to prepare and share a one-minute verbal summary of a completed
activity, session or topic. This provides a re-cap at the start of a lesson or consolidation during the
lesson. To check for understanding, the teacher puts pupils into small groups or pairs and asks
them to share their summaries verbally. The teacher can go around the class and listen to pupils’
summaries and then choose one or two for sharing with the whole class.

Building block . Self assessment and peer assessment

Self assessment and peer assessment are important teaching and learning strategies in formative
assessment practice. These strategies ensure that pupils are involved in assessment and are able
to help each other with their learning. Here are some ideas:

Two stars and a wish

When a pupil gives feedback to another pupil on an aspect of their learning, the feedback must
take the form of two things that were good (stars) and one area for improvement (wish). Teachers
can develop the quality of feedback like this: the teacher collects the feedback (for example if they

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 are written on post-it notes) and shares the feedback (anonymously) with the class. Pupils then
vote on which comments are most useful and discuss why.

Peer assessment to improve answers

Pupils work individually on a task and then share their work in small groups. They then work
together as a group to generate the best possible answer. Groups share their collaborative results
with the rest of the class.

Pupils designing their own spot tests

Pupils work in groups preparing their own short test to check on learning. They should make sure
that they know all the answers to their questions. The groups swap their tests within the class and
pupils complete each other’s tests, returning them for marking to the group that designed the test.
Each group can then get feedback on their answers from the group that made the test. Follow-up
learning could involve working in groups to improve answers, based on the peer feedback.

Third principle: How do we get there?

So far we have looked at eight building blocks that help to show pupils where they are heading and
to help them produce evidence of learning along the way. Feedback that helps to move learning
forward is central to the process of learning.
In formative assessment, feedback is not something that only happens at the end of a stage of
learning. For example, it should not just be after a pupil hands in work to be marked. Feedback
should be specific, frequent and move learning forward.
The final building block that we will look at is feedback.

Building block . Feedback

A teacher gets feedback on a pupil’s progress through the planned formative assessment activities.
These activities provide the teacher with the opportunity to give feedback to the pupil on their
progress. A classroom where regular formative assessment takes place is a classroom where there
is frequent and ongoing feedback on pupil learning. This teacher-to-pupil feedback is effective if it:
 recognises what the pupil did well
 identifies challenges, and points forward to the next step.
If the teacher is not sure about pupil understanding or ability, they can ask further questions before
deciding on the feedback. This also promotes an environment where pupils can express their ideas.
Some example questions:

 Do you like [story title]? Why?  What do you think about ________?
 What does [new word] mean?  Why do you think ________ ?
 Did you mean ________ ?

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 Medals and missions8 model
In formative assessment, pupils need information about their progress and not just praise or
encouragement. They need to know:
 What they are aiming for = Goals (learning objectives and success criteria, the nature
of good work, etc.)
 Where they are now in relation to these goals = Medals
 How to close the gap between where they are now and the goals = Missions.
Let’s look at the components of the model in more detail.
Medals: This is information about what a pupil has done well. For example, teachers can write
'Your paragraphs and punctuation are good!' or 'That's a good argument!’ in the margin next to a
well-made point. Grades and marks are measurements not medals. Medals are information
about what exactly was done well. It is important to understand that a medal can relate to the
process of learning as well as a final product.
Missions: This is information about what the pupil needs to improve, correct or work on. It is best
when it is forward looking and positive. For example, 'Try to give your group/partner more
evidence for your views' or 'Use more paragraphs to show the structure of your writing'. Again,
measurements such as grades do not usually give this information.
Clear goals: Teachers should give medals and missions in relation to clear goals which are
usually best given in advance. This is what the first building block for formative assessment
(discussed above) helps to establish. So by sharing learning objectives and success criteria
(WALTs and WILFs) with pupils they know what their goals are. Goals can include success
criteria such as 'Use paragraphing to show the structure of your writing' or 'Give evidence,
examples for the points of view you express'.
Setting targets: Missions need to be turned into targets for pupils to work on. In this way, the
pupil knows what they need to do with the feedback and what action they need to take. Teachers
can record feedback, including the target and action planned, on Individual Learning Plans (ILPs),
which can be paper-based or electronic.

Example of ‘medals and missions’ feedback

‘You gave a clear explanation of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. The details will be helpful
for other pupils. In your next written essay pay more attention to punctuation.’
Medal: This is: You gave a clear explanation of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. Here the pupil is
receiving a medal that relates to language use as well as ability to explain an idea supported by
subject knowledge.
Mission: This is: In your next written essay pay more attention to punctuation. This mission
relates to language use and draws the pupil’s attention to a specific aspect of their use of
language.

8 The words ‘medals’ and ‘mission’ are used metaphorically to make the idea easy for pupils to remember.

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Ensuring that feedback is effective is very important. If feedback is specific, frequent and moves
learning forward in the way that the ‘medals and missions’ model does, then it has a significant
impact on achievement.
Saying or writing exactly what a pupil has done well and also saying or writing what a pupil needs to
improve, correct or work on is a key element of formative assessment practice.
The next section will help teachers to picture a supportive classroom culture based around
formative assessment where every pupil is encouraged to become a confident learner.

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Classroom Culture

Formative assessment will help create a classroom culture in which every pupil can succeed. But for
this culture to develop, pupils need to recognise the thoughts that may stop them from succeeding.
Part of a proactive approach to formative assessment is building a classroom culture in which pupils
recognise these thoughts and understand ways of thinking that enable them to achieve. It is about
giving pupils a sense of ownership over their learning.
Research on how pupils feel about learning has shown the difference between ‘fixed’ and ‘growth’
mindsets (i.e. attitude and approach). With a fixed mindset, intelligence is perceived as static:
either you are clever or not and education cannot change it. With this mindset, challenge and risk-
taking is avoided because of the fear of failure. Growth mindset, however, views intelligence as
something that is not fixed. When a pupil has this mindset they are not afraid of challenge. They
welcome feedback on their progress and they react to failure positively and are more likely to try
harder.
The table below (Clarke, 2014, p. 13) provides a clear comparison of these two mindsets:

Fixed mindset (performance orientation) Growth mindset (learning orientation)

Intelligence is static Intelligence is expandable
I must look clever! I want to learn more!

Avoids challenges Embraces challenges

Gives up easily Persists in the face of setbacks

Sees effort as pointless Sees effort as the way forward

Ignores useful criticism Learns from criticism

Likely to plateau early and achieve less Reaches ever higher levels of
than full potential achievement
Promoting a growth mindset can help pupils see their potential. Teachers need to show pupils that
they are responsible for their own mindset. Rewarding effort rather than attainment, as well as
using frequent formative feedback, is key to developing a growth mindset classroom culture.
Here are some more ideas for creating a growth mindset classroom culture:

Create a climate in which pupils feel safe and become willing to take risks
It is natural for pupils to be afraid of making mistakes because it could mean failure to them.
Encourage pupils to give answers and responses that still need more work (by emphasising that
giving an incorrect response is not wrong, since that is not the point). For example, encourage
pupils to present to others about a topic they are familiar with. Presenting to others can be
intimidating, which may affect their language accuracy. Praise pupils on their ability to present to
others and answer questions, etc. Another example is for teachers to ask pupils to solve a
problem in groups and then present to class. The teacher does not praise the result but praises
the language abilities and effort behind the action.

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Acknowledge ‘mistaken’ answers by finding something positive…
…and not merely dismissing them. When pupils come up with something that is not quite there
yet, a teacher can build confidence with prompts that help pupils to self-correct and find a better
answer. A teacher can aid this process by providing examples of ‘thinking out loud’ (i.e. pupils
speaking their thoughts) that help model a process of reflection, demonstrating increased
awareness, clarification and critical thinking. For example, teachers can ask pupils some
questions to activate their awareness:
Teacher to pupil/pupils: Ask yourself/yourselves…
 What is the difference between [wrong structure/answer] and [correct structure/answer]? Is it
___________ ? (ask the follow-up question if necessary)
 Why does[(peer/teacher] think the correct answer should be ___________ ?
 Do I understand what I just read/heard?
 What else can I say/write?

Another strategy which can help teachers differentiate and support less able pupils:
 Ask pupils to think out loud individually
 Pupils compare with others verbally
 Pupils write comments on post-it notes and stick them onto a wall or flip chart paper
 The class discusses the comments.

C3B4ME (See Three Before Me)

This is a great way to encourage a proactive approach to formative assessment that gives
responsibility to pupils. With C3B4ME (meaning ‘See Three Before Me’) a pupil has to speak to
three other pupils before seeking help from the teacher. It also helps to create a classroom
culture in which pupils recognise that they are able to help each other with their learning.

Involve pupils in planning

Involving pupils in planning lessons and units of learning is a great way to give ownership to
pupils. Finding out what pupils already know about a topic, breaking the topic down in various
ways and asking for pupils’ ideas about how to learn can contribute to a growth mindset: it shows
that every pupil has a voice in the classroom and everyone’s views are valued by the teacher.

Be mindful of body language

All pupils can be highly sensitive to body language and the messages that posture, facial
expressions and eye contact might be sending out. Teachers should be aware of how to use their
non-verbal communication signals to show their pupils that they are interested in them as
individual learners.

Praising growth mindset

The language that teachers use to praise pupils has the most impact on developing a growth
mindset classroom culture. Focus on praising effort by using key phrases: ‘You mean you don’t
know yet’; ‘Don’t say no – have a go’; ‘Well done! You’re learning to…’. When teachers use
this language of praising effort alongside ‘medals and missions’ feedback, they will help pupils to
see their learning as an ongoing process rather than just a task to be done and completed.

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What’s Next?

Take some time to reflect on your experience: How are you going to apply formative assessment in
your lesson plans and classroom? Which formative assessment activities do you already use with
your pupils and which ones would you like to try? You may find that some activities would work
better with your pupils than others, considering their age and needs.
When you have started applying and extending formative assessment activities in your lesson plans
and teaching, return to the nine blocks in this handbook and think again: Which formative
assessment activities worked well and which ones can you plan and deliver differently? Are you
closer to making formative assessment principles and practices a part of your planning and
classroom environment?
You may also want to exchange ideas with other teachers and your department head about what
worked well and share your ideas for future lessons. Peer discussions are a useful way to get some
feedback and find out how other teachers plan and manage their lessons. Inviting another teacher
to observe your classes can help make you become more aware of what you need to improve for
your future lessons and how to do that.
You can record your ideas and thoughts in the box below and revisit them at a later stage.

Comments box

This handbook suggests some formative assessment activities. The next section provides a list of
references which contain a wealth of formative assessment ideas, approaches and activities.

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Further Reading and Useful Websites

Clarke, S. (2014) Outstanding Formative Assessment: Culture and Practice. London: Hodder
Education.
This book is particularly useful for primary teachers. It is full of practical suggestions, alongside
case studies about primary schools putting formative assessment into practice.
Christodoulou, D. (2016) Making Good Progress. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Daisy Christodoulou has become a leading thinker on assessment theory and practice in recent
years. This book has useful (and controversial) ideas about the future of assessment.
Dweck, C. S. (2016) Self-Theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality and Development.
Oxford: Routledge.
Carol Dweck has been researching children’s views on their learning for years. This book is an
introduction to her work and includes growth mindset questionnaires for the classroom.
Hattie, J. (2009) Visible Learning. Oxford: Routledge
This book is essential reading for teachers interested in evidence-based approaches to teaching.
Hattie has undertaken research over several decades and identified, based on the evidence, the
approaches that have most impact on learning.
Petty, G. (2014) Teaching Today: A Practical Guide. Fifth Edition, Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
In addition to the ‘medals and missions’ model for feedback, this book by Geoff Petty provides a
comprehensive resource of teaching ideas – it will mostly be of interest to secondary level
teachers.
Wiliam, D. (2018) Embedded Formative Assessment. Second Edition, Bloomington, IN: Solution
Tree Press.
This book has been a key resource for this handbook. It is full of practical ideas for formative
assessment that are useful for primary and secondary level teachers and includes detailed
discussions of research into formative assessment.
The Association for Achievement and Improvement though Assessment: www.aaia.org.uk
Many relevant articles on formative assessment and growth mindset can be found here.
Shirley Clarke’s website: www.shirleyclarke-education.org
Useful resources and films of formative assessment in practice (there’s a subscription to pay, to
access all the films).
Spence Kagan’s website: www.kaganonline.com
Spencer Kagan is one of the pioneers of cooperative learning and here you will find lots of useful
articles and resources about cooperative learning.
Dylan Wiliam’s website: www.dylanwiliam.org
Includes links to articles by this leading proponent of formative assessment.

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Glossary of Terms
This is a list of some of the terms used in the handbook. They are the terms that you are likely to
come across later when planning for formative assessment activities.

Term Meaning
C3B4ME See Three (pupils) Before Me (teacher).
Deliberate practice Breaking down learning into small steps.
Exemplar An example which can be used as a model.
Hinge questions Questions which aim to check pupils’ understanding before moving from
one key idea/activity/point to another.
Learning objectives9 They describe the knowledge and skills that pupils are expected to learn
during one lesson. They represent the lesson goals and are prepared by
the teacher every lesson.
Learning standards They describe learning which should have taken place by the end of the
school year. They should be taken from the Curriculum Framework.
Plenary Activity at the end of a lesson, or at the end of an activity within the lesson,
to review the learning.
Prior knowledge Knowledge and skills which pupils already have, possibly acquired from
previous lessons or previous years.
Probing questions Questions which aim to dig deeper than the surface.
Starter Activity at the beginning of a lesson, or at the beginning of an activity, to
review prior knowledge.
Success criteria Specific and measurable description of what success looks like when the
learning objective (goal) is reached.
WALT What we are learning to achieve (learning objective).
Wait time The time given between asking a question and collecting a response to it.
WILF What I’m looking for (success criteria).

9 Over time the learning objectives will ensure that pupils have enough opportunities to meet the learning
standard by the end of the year.

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